A Halloween Story
by MysticDawn5
Summary: The twins, Fay and Yuui, are disappointed that they won't be able to celebrate their favorite holiday in Japan, but Tomoyo comes to the rescue with the suggestion that they all celebrate Halloween at her house. / Alternate Universe /


**A Halloween Story**

**By Mystic Dawn**

* * *

The windowpane was cold against Syaoran's face, but he ignored it, his breathing fogging up the glass as he tried to make out the shapes on the street below him. Nothing yet. He sighed and sat back on the stool, his feet fidgeting in anticipation. He turned to look at the grandfather clock. It was already half past six.

"I'm sure they'll be here to pick you up soon, Syaoran-sama," a tall, elderly figure assured him from his comfortable seat on the sofa. "Don't squirm so much."

"I'm not squirming," he retorted, frowning at the man who was so diligently reading the newspaper. "I'm just waiting."

"Well, your 'waiting' is distracting, Syaoran-sama," he replied, lowering the paper enough to shoot him an encouraging smile. "I understand this is the first time you're going to celebrate this peculiar American holiday, but don't overdo it."

"Yes, Wei," Syaoran sighed.

There was a moment of silence, then Wei asked, "What did you say this holiday's called?"

"Halloween," the ten year-old answered promptly.

Wei nodded and harrumphed before lowering his gaze to the paper again.

It was as if voicing the holiday's name had suddenly been the only thing that had managed to lift Syaoran's spirits. Halloween wasn't something he'd ever celebrated before, neither in China nor since he'd come to Japan (though there was a similar celebration called the Ghost Festival in China). It wasn't as widely-spread a phenomenon as it was in other, western countries—especially America—but this year would be different... at least for Syaoran and his friends.

The twins, Fay and Yuui, despite having a Japanese mother, were more drawn to their father's European culture. They used to go out 'trick-or-treating' every year back in England and couldn't imagine not celebrating the holiday this year (the entire family had moved back to Japan that year). But Tomoyo came to their rescue with the suggestion that they all hold a little Halloween party of their own at her house. She said it was large enough and would be perfect for what she had in mind. It made Syaoran wonder just how big her house really was. He hadn't had the chance to see it yet, but from what Sakura had told him, it was just like a mansion.

Who'd have thought that she'd been so close to the mark?

Syaoran couldn't stop staring at the sheer vastness of the front yard—if it could still be termed in such a manner—what with its neatly pruned hedges and flat-paved sidewalk. But it wasn't enough that Tomoyo was obviously rich enough to live in such a place. It was even adorned with strange pumpkins set at each corner with carved-out faces and flickering candles eerily lighting up their expressions. And strange cobwebs with fake black spiders spread along the hedges and large, cracked tombstones spread out here and there. There were even large skeletons placed at each side of the front gate, and when they rang the doorbell it had screamed at them. It had set Syaoran's teeth on edge, but it was hard to forget about it the way the twins kept babbling excitedly about it.

"It seems like Tomoyo-chan's put a lot of effort to create Halloween for you all," Yukito remarked, smiling down at the twins.

"I still don't get why _we_ had to come," grumbled Touya.

"Someone had to take everyone to Tomoyo-chan's house," Yukito reminded him. "And besides, Kendappa-san wanted to see us, remember?"

Touya mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but judging by the sour expression on his face, it hadn't been flattering.

"Onii-chan!" Sakura hissed. "Stop talking like that!"

"I'm seven years older than you so I can do whatever I want, monster," he grunted.

"I'm not a monster!"

Touya ignored her and turned back to Yukito, almost absent-mindedly setting a hand on Sakura's head to prevent her wildly-flapping arms from punching him. "We don't have to greet them, do we? It's not like we're gonna stay to play this Halloween event."

"Courtesy, Toya, courtesy," Yukito reminded him with a small smile. "We should always be nice."

"Hmp."

"I'd rather be called a monster than the stupid nicknames those two come up with," Kurogane mumbled in a low voice to Syaoran, indicating the two blond twins in front of them.

"We heard you, Kuro-pippi," they chimed, grinning at him evilly from over their shoulders.

Kurogane's eye twitched. "See what I mean?" he groaned.

Syaoran merely offered a sympathetic smile. He had no idea why Fay and Yuui only called Kurogane by strange nicknames, but he wasn't eager to find out and perhaps face the same treatment.

"You're here!" a light, melodious voice suddenly cried from the open front door of the house as a figure with a mass of raven locks suddenly sprang forward to encircle Sakura into a tight embrace.

"It's good to see you, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura smiled, hugging her back tightly.

"I'm so glad you could all make it," Tomoyo grinned, drawing back to look at them.

"Wow!" the twins suddenly gasped. "Tomoyo-chan looks amazing!"

Tomoyo was dressed in a purple-black dress with long billowy sleeves and a long purple-trimmed black cloak. Her look was completed with a tall, cone-shaped felt hat and a traditional straw broomstick in her hand. She twirled around once, giggling. "I thought I ought to dress up for the occasion," she explained with a shrug, tossing back her long hair.

"I think she's the prettiest witch I've ever seen," Fay said admiringly.

"No kidding! Whoever said witches are ugly old hags was wrong!" Yuui added.

"Ohohohoho! Well, I'm glad you two like it." She looked up at Yukito and Touya. "I hadn't expected you two to come, but you're welcome to join in the festivities."

"I don't think we'll be staying, Tomoyo-chan," Yukito told her. "We just wanted to see your sister for a minute before we go. She told us at school today that she wanted to show us something."

"What a shame," Tomoyo pouted. "Oh, well, Onee-san is waiting inside. Come on in!"

She led them all inside the house, and Syaoran and Kurogane tried not to gawk _too_ much at just how big the interior was. And just how decorated, as well. It was as festive as the decorations outside: tombstones, cobwebs, fake coffins, and all sorts of Halloween-themed gadgets and gizmos.

A taller girl with long black hair suddenly appeared in the hallway, perhaps the only object in the house not dressed up or decorated for the occasion. Her clear blue eyes brightened at the sight of Yukito and Touya.

"You're here!" she squealed excitedly, springing up to suddenly wrap her arms tightly around Touya's neck. "Souma will be so glad to see you!"

"She's here, too?" Touya spluttered, trying to disentangle her arms from around him.

"Oh, yes!" Kendappa assured him. "That way, we can all spare a few minutes to finally finish that kissing match we started!"

Touya's face turned an alarming shade of scarlet as he began to splutter unintelligibly. Yukito was actually not that far behind him as his cheeks suddenly flushed red and his eyes widened in horror.

"Come on then, loverboys!" Kendappa crowed, grabbing one of their hands each. "We ought to leave these adorable kids to their Halloween so we can attend to more important matters!"

It was almost with a groan of despair that Yukito and Touya were dragged up the stairs by Kendappa at lightning speed, leaving the six baffled ten year-olds blinking in incomprehension.

"I wonder what Onee-san meant by that," Tomoyo mused.

"Never mind them," the twins said simultaneously. "Let's start celebrating Halloween!"

"Oh, yes!" Tomoyo giggled. "My room's this way."

She began to climb the stairs, the others following right behind. She led them to a large door, which she opened, revealing her spacious and luxurious living quarters. It wasn't just a bedroom; it was a sitting room and bedroom in one, and all decorated with orange and black colors to fit the occasion.

"I hope you like the decorations," Tomoyo said. "I want our first Halloween together to be perfect! And I've also prepared the perfect costumes for you all!" she continued, extravagantly twirling her cloak around her shoulders. "But since you can't dress all together at once, you ought to take turns using the dressing room. Then the _real_ Halloween fun can begin!"

"Did you know we were going to wear costumes?" Kurogane asked Syaoran in a low voice.

"No," the other replied blankly, shaking his head. "I thought we were just going to celebrate Halloween."

"But this _is_ how Halloween is celebrated, Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo told him in a matter-of-fact voice. "Halloween, or All Hallow's Eve, is believed to have originated in Ireland. Halloween is considered the night when spirits of the dead and inhabitants from the underworld are able to walk free on the earth. It was believed necessary in the old days to dress as a spirit or otherworldly creature when venturing outdoors to blend in. This is where dressing up at Halloween comes from."

"Wow!" Fay and Yuui chimed, clapping their hands together appreciatively. "Tomoyo-chan has done her homework for Halloween!"

"Oh, it was nothing," she shrugged, blushing slightly. "I just read up on it so I could make our Halloween as genuine as possible. Since it's your favorite holiday, I didn't want to disappoint you with my recreation."

"Sandwich time!" they cried, each twin hugging one of Tomoyo's arms, effectively squishing her into a tight embrace between themselves. "Thank you so much, Tomoyo-chan!"

Kurogane cleared his throat loudly at that point, shooting Fay and Yuui a look of daggers. The twins stuck their tongues out at him before releasing Tomoyo and expectantly settling down onto the black-and-orange sofa.

"When will we change into our costumes, Tomoyo-chan?" Syaoran asked.

"Right now, of course!" Tomoyo immediately turned to Sakura, hands joined together and eyes sparkling. "I want Sakura-chan to be the first to change into my masterpiece!"

"Er... masterpiece?" Sakura asked weakly.

"Oh, you'll be the judge of that!" Tomoyo giggled, stuffing a black bag into her hands and ushering her into the dressing room. "I worked extra-hard on it, so I hope it manages to show off all of your attributes!"

"A-attributes?" Syaoran swallowed, his cheeks reddening slightly.

"Ooh, is Syaoran-kun blushing?" Fay wondered innocently, sliding up to his side.

"I think he is, Fay," Yuui agreed, slipping up to Syaoran's other side.

They each wrapped an arm around his shoulders and whispered, "Now why could that be?"

"Geeze, give the guy a break already," Kurogane said exasperatedly.

They exchanged looks over Syaoran's head. "Okay," they said, before coming up to Kurogane's side in a similar fashion.

"I didn't mean to start bugging me instead!"

"But Kuro-tan, it's our favorite pastime!" they exclaimed, each linking an arm with his.

"Get off of me, you idiots!" he exclaimed, waving his arms frantically as he tried to shake them off. Of course, they didn't budge.

Syaoran sweat-dropped and Tomoyo giggled as she focused her video camera upon the struggling trio. "You look so amusing all together," she commented lightly.

"No, we don't!" Kurogane shouted. "Get off of me right now!"

"But it's so much fun!" they laughed.

"Um..." Sakura tentatively poked her head out from behind the curtains. "Can I come out now?"

"Already?" Syaoran asked in surprise.

"It isn't a costume with a lot of pieces, Syaoran-kun."

If it were possible, his face grew even redder than before.

"Come out, come out!" the twins said, finally releasing Kurogane to get a better view of her costume. "We want to see!"

Sakura flushed a deep crimson before screwing her eyes shut and stepping out from behind the curtain.

"Ooooh!" Fay and Yuui exclaimed. "You're so cute!"

"Kyaaa!" Tomoyo shrieked, focusing her video camera on her. "I knew it would look perfect on you!"

Syaoran and Kurogane merely blinked in surprise.

Sakura was wearing a fluffy-looking, light pink dress with tight-fitting sleeves and a silver crown perched upon her head. She even had pink-colored wings attached to the back of the dress. The look was completed with a long, flimsy-looking wand topped with a star, which she held loosely in her left hand.

"Sakura-chan looks like Glinda of Oz, doesn't she?" Fay mused.

Tomoyo tilted her head to one side. "I didn't have Glinda in mind when I was making the costume," she mused professionally. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'fairy princess' actually." She frowned and peered at Sakura. "But now that you mention it... she _does_ look a little like Glinda, doesn't she?"

"Wow, yeah!" Yuui gasped. "Scary, isn't it?"

"I rather like it," Syaoran finally decided.

"You do?" Sakura asked with a smile that could melt chocolate.

"Er... yeah!" he spluttered, reddening dangerously. "Of course I do!"

"_You_would," Kurogane snorted.

"Marvelous!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "Then you're next!" She produced another black bag out of thin air and handed it to Syaoran before forcing him inside the dressing room.

A little while later found Syaoran eyeing his costume with apparent satisfaction. All the proper pieces were there. The characteristic boots, the tight-fitting pants tucked in them, the ten-foot whip tied to his belt, the revolver (for a fake, it was quite realistic), the dark-colored bag, the leather jacket, and, lastly, the characteristic tall-crowned, wide-brimmed fedora sitting comfortably on his head.

"I knew it!" Tomoyo shrieked gleefully, pulling out her video camera. "You look just like Indiana Jones!"

"Wow, Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran-kun looks amazing!" Sakura grinned, clapping her hands.

"It's scary how close he comes to Harrison Ford, isn't it?" Yuui mused, speculatively eyeing him up and down.

"No kidding," Fay agreed. "It looks like Syaoran-kun's made to be Indiana Jones."

"And you know what that means..." Yuui said with a knowing smile.

The two twins joined hands and suddenly cried out at the top of their lungs, "It's time to act out _Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull!_"

"That hasn't even been filmed yet," Kurogane snorted.

"Actually, it's in the 'process' of being filmed," they corrected, grinning at him smugly.

"Whatever!" he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fay-kun, Yuui-kun, leave Kurogane-kun alone," Tomoyo chided gently, smiling. "I can't have you two upsetting my knight in shining armor now, can I?"

"Your _what?_" Kurogane exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror.

"That's your costume, silly!" Tomoyo giggled. "Now be a good boy and put it on before I change my mind and let you dress last," she added, stuffing another black bag in his hands.

"But wait, I—!" Before Kurogane even had a chance to protest, Tomoyo had pushed him into the dressing room, drawing the curtains closed behind him.

"Don't dawdle or else I'll come in there and dress you myself!" she warned. She turned to the rest with a triumphant smile. "There," she said, dusting her hands on her dress. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Fay and Yuui exchanged perplexed looks, then burst into laughter. Sakura and Syaoran merely sweat-dropped, wondering if they were the only sane ones in their mismatched group.

"Are you ready yet, Kuro-wan?" the twins asked after several minutes had passed.

An incoherent grunt was the only answer they received.

"Do you think he might be having trouble putting his costume on?" Fay asked his twin innocently.

"Why Fay, I do believe you're right!" Yuui replied, aghast. "It's only fair that we help him out, right?"

"What do you think, Tomoyo-chan?" Fay asked her sweetly. "Should we help him get dressed?"

Tomoyo's answering smile was almost evil-looking as she winked and hefted her video camera to get a better image.

The twins rolled back their sleeves, exchanged gleeful looks, then raced into the dressing room without even so much as a warning. Sakura and Syaoran subconsciously gulped, waiting for the bomb to drop.

There was a moment of silence that seemed to last forever. Then...

"_WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"_

"We just wanted to help Kuro-tako get ready!" one of them giggled madly, which one it was, the others couldn't tell.

"Too bad you're already ready and you're just too shy to come out and show us how you look!" the other replied, laughing just as hard.

"Cartwheel time!" they chimed together.

There was a loud thump, an inarticulate exclamation, and Kurogane came rolling out, falling flat on his face. The twins shook their heads, _tsking_ as they pushed the curtain aside.

"He's really a feisty one, isn't he?" Fay noted, looking down at him.

"That's what makes it so fun!" Yuui grinned.

"Why I oughtta..." Kurogane growled, a murderous gleam in his eyes.

"Kyaaaa!" Tomoyo suddenly shrieked. "You look absolutely gorgeous!"

"G-gorgeous?" he demanded incredulously.

He was wearing a good imitation of what was supposed to be chain-mail, with a red tunic with a black dragon emblem embroidered on his chest and back, and a thick belt to hold a silver sword (although fake, it was heavy enough to pass off as a real sword). All in all, a rather appropriate-looking 'knight' in 'shining' armor.

"I'd say intimidating," Syaoran murmured.

"I can't believe how well it suits you!" Tomoyo continued. "It makes me wish I'd made myself look like a damsel in distress." She drew back from her video camera and clasped her cheek, sighing. "Be my knight any day!"

She didn't seem to realize what an impact her words had on him. Kurogane's face was suddenly almost the exact same shade as his tunic. Thankfully, he didn't notice how hard the twins were trying not to burst out laughing or else he would have probably ruined the Kodiak moment.

"All right then," Tomoyo said, turning to Fay and Yuui. "I've got something very special for you two."

"Oooh! What?" they asked excitedly.

"These," Tomoyo said, handing them the last two bags she had. "This one is for Fay-kun and this one is for Yuui-kun." She handed each the corresponding packs. "Just go into the dressing room and dress up. Because after the costumes, comes Halloween games!"

"Halloween games?" the twins said together.

"Like bobbing for apples?" Fay asked, eyes bright.

"And divining the future?" Yuui asked, equally excited.

"And telling ghost stories?" they said simultaneously.

"But of course," Tomoyo grinned.

"Yay!" they cheered, then dove into the dressing room without any need to be cajoled.

Syaoran and the two girls broke into peals of laughter at the twins' excitement. Kurogane merely rolled his eyes skywards.

Soon enough, Fay and Yuui emerged from the dressing room with an exuberant, "Taadaaa!" raising their arms to show off their costumes.

"Oh, my goodness!" Sakura gasped.

Fay was completely dressed in black, with a long black cloak, his hair tied back in a ponytail, and a black eye-patch on his left eye. He parted his lips to reveal a fake set of fangs, spreading his cloak with his hands dramatically. "I am Count Dracula and I vant to suck Kuro-vankoro's blood!" he said, imitating a Romanian accent and swooping down upon Kurogane.

"Get off of me, you crazy fool!"

Yuui smirked and assumed his own dramatic stance. "And I have come back from the dead to seek vengeance from Count Dracula!" he moaned, slowly and deliberately. He mimicked waddling like the living-dead he was dressed as (merely in something that was probably once a light blue-colored nightgown but appeared tattered and soiled, as if he had come out straight from an earthy grave) and collapsed upon Fay, effectively flattening Kurogane beneath them.

"Ingenious!" Tomoyo congratulated. "Fay-kun, you painted Yuui-kun's face to make him look more like a zombie, didn't you?"

"Vell, you did provide us vith the face paints," he grinned toothily, getting to his feet, hauling up Yuui with his free hand. His other hand was busy trying to tickle Kurogane.

"But what's up with the eye-patch?" Syaoran asked curiously.

"That was my idea," Yuui said proudly. "I kept thinking that something was missing, so I used my hair tie to make the band and we used some abandoned black felt we found for the patch. And voilà!"

"Weird," was Kurogane's only comment.

"Well, now that we're all ready, I want us all to make a line against this wall for a memorable photo," Tomoyo instructed, turning to a camera she had previously placed upon a stand across from the wall, making some last minute adjustments.

Fay and Yuui hurried to oblige, setting themselves between Syaoran and Sakura. After Tomoyo had set the timer, she rushed to place herself between Sakura and Kurogane, causing the line to slightly shift and for Fay to come out on Kurogane's other side.

"Six more seconds," Tomoyo told them. "Smile!" She nudged Kurogane slightly and murmured, "You too."

They all grinned toothily as the camera flashed.

"Let's see how we came out!" Yuui said, running forward to take the photo.

"Aww, Kuro-rin's smile is lopsided!" Fay complained, taking it from his hands to examine it better.

"So what?" Kurogane scoffed, hardly looking at the picture as he handed it to Syaoran. "It's just a picture."

"Oh, dear," Tomoyo sighed. "I would've liked a smiling Kurogane-kun in my collection of photos somewhere."

Kurogane blinked. "Uh..."

"Never mind the picture now," Yuui said, turning to Tomoyo. "What was that you said before about Halloween games?"

"Yeah, let's play!" Fay exclaimed.

Tomoyo grinned and raised her arm, brandishing her broomstick in the air. "On to the Halloween activities!"

They all raced down the stairs to the large and appropriately-decorated living room of the Daidouji manor. Jack-o'-lanterns glimmered in their corners, while orange and black decorations with paper skeletons, bats, black cats and ghosts dangled from the ceiling. In the center of the room was a large wooden tub filled to the brim with water and numerous floating apples on the surface.

"Now then," Tomoyo said, coming to a stop beside the tub and clapping her hands together. "I'll explain the origin of this game and its rules before we start. That way, it'll be more enjoyable."

"Origins?" Sakura asked.

Tomoyo nodded. "In Ireland, nuts, apples and coins are usually placed in tubs full of water. The point of the game, called 'bobbing for apples,' is to not use your hands to retrieve the objects. The coins are ultimately the hardest to catch, since the apples and nuts float, whereas the coins sink to the bottom.

"In Scotland and England the game is similar, but you win a prize judging by how fast you are. Specifically, in England, once you caught an apple, it would be peeled and tossed over the shoulder in the hope that the strips would fall into the shape of a letter, which would supposedly be the first initial of the participant's true love. According to another superstition, the longer the peel, the longer the peeler's life would be, and some even say that the first participant to get an apple would be the first to marry.

"The version we'll be playing here will be something like a merge of the three. We'll only bob for apples, but seeing as the apples are large in size, it won't be an easy task. Once we all gather our apples, we'll peel them to discover the first initial of our true loves."

"But how will the peels form the first initial of a name?" Syaoran asked. "It would be difficult for kanji to form, wouldn't it?"

Fay snickered and Yuui almost choked at Syaoran's sharpness.

"We'll be going with the romanization of the Japanese language, Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo offered. "All right, then. Shall we start?"

They nodded and rolled back their sleeves, surrounding the large tub.

"On your marks..." she said. "Get set... go!"

They all drew deep breaths and dunked their heads into the tub. It was very amusing to try to grab at apples with your teeth and to miss by a few inches. It took almost up to ten minutes for Kurogane to finally raise his head triumphantly, his teeth sunk deep into an apple.

"Kurogane-kun's the first to get his apple!" Sakura clapped.

"I feel like my jaw's been broken or something," he grumbled, flexing his lower jaw.

"Now take this pocketknife and peel it," Tomoyo instructed, "while the rest of us keep bobbing for apples."

"I'll bet you anything that I'll get the next one," Yuui dared Fay.

"I'll bet _you_ anything that _I'll_ get it first," Fay grinned in answer.

The two twins then dunked their heads back underwater, closely followed by the other three. It turned out two minutes later that they were wrong on both counts: Syaoran was the second to get his apple.

Kurogane eyed the apple in his hand with distaste. As if the peel would show him anything! Nevertheless, he decided to try it out. Syaoran had already peeled away half of his own apple. And Kurogane could humor Tomoyo at least. Right?

"Mnphf!" Yuui said unintelligibly, emerging a little later with a bright red apple between his teeth.

"No fair! You cheated!" Fay complained.

"Now how on earth would I cheat?" Yuui demanded.

"I don't know how, but you did!"

Yuui chuckled as he took the knife from Syaoran. "Didn't throw the peel over your shoulder yet?"

"I'm thinking we should wait for everyone to get their apples first."

"It might be a while until that," Yuui shrugged. He then snickered. "Not to mention Kuro-chan doesn't seem to know how to peel apples."

"Shut up," Kurogane snarled, his tongue stuck between his teeth as he tried to peel his apple... but with little success.

It took close to another ten minutes for Sakura, Fay, and Tomoyo to get their own apples, and soon enough, they had all peeled them and were waiting for Fay to finish peeling his own apple to throw the peels over their shoulders.

"On the count of three then," Syaoran said once Fay had finished. "One... two... three!"

They each tossed their peel over their shoulders, then turned to see what letters they formed.

"Hmm..." Yuui said. "Mine just looks like an oversized ribbon."

"Mine's rather bent," Fay pouted.

"Mine's all squiggly," Sakura mused.

"Mine's like that, too," Syaoran said.

"This doesn't seem to be working properly," Tomoyo said disappointedly. "They all look exactly the same."

Kurogane frowned at his. "Mine looks weird. What's this letter?"

Fay peered over his shoulder. "Could be a 'J'," he suggested.

"I don't even know anyone with a name starting with 'J'!"

"Well, if you look at it at this angle it looks like the letter 'L'," Tomoyo pointed out.

"I don't know anyone by 'L' either!"

"Could be the letter 'F', I suppose," Syaoran said.

_"'F'?"_ Kurogane repeated.

"Or a little 'T'," Sakura suggested.

"'_T'?"_

"All I see is an extra-long peel," Fay huffed. "I guess that means Kuro-bun's going to outlive us all!"

"Well, besides our failed divining with initials, perhaps we should start divining with teacups!" Tomoyo suggested.

"Teacups?" Sakura asked blankly.

"On to the next table!" Tomoyo led them to the other side of the room, where six teacups had been placed upside-down upon a table. "Another game people play on Halloween is this," she explained as they settled down on the pillows. "An object is placed beneath these teacups, and depending on the object each of us will choose, we discover the life we will lead in the future. Now, I won't tell you what each object symbolizes yet, so we can build up an appropriate amount of suspense. Ready?"

"I don't know this game, do you?" Fay asked his twin.

"Nope," Yuui said.

"It's a game played in Ireland," Tomoyo told them. "Now, I'll shuffle the cups and we'll each pick one, all right?" She began to shift the cups around, and after several moments, she stopped. "Who goes first?"

"I will," Syaoran said, picking one of them. He lifted the cup up, and a card with a picture of the sea was beneath it. He looked at Tomoyo, perplexed.

"I'll explain what it means later. Next?"

In the end, they each had a peculiar object in their possession: Sakura had a ring, Tomoyo had a coin, Yuui had a bean, Fay had Rosary beads, and Kurogane had been left with a clump of dirt.

"What on earth"—Kurogane looked down at his own earth with distaste—"do these mean?"

"I'll tell you," Tomoyo giggled. "Syaoran-kun's means water, which symbolizes emigration, and Sakura-chan's is a ring, which means she will marry soon."

"Hoe!" Sakura exclaimed, blushing deeply.

"Yuui-kun's object foretells poverty, Fay-kun's foretells a position in the clergy, my objecy symbolizes wealth and Kurogane-kun's..." She looked up at him uneasily. "Well, yours means that someone you know will die within the next year."

He snorted incredulously. "Don't tell me you believe in all this superstitious nonsense."

"I don't," Fay said. "I'm definitely not becoming a priest!"

"Well, these objects were mostly symbolic in the time this game was invented," Tomoyo said hurriedly. "Back then, a lot of people traveled to different countries in hopes of living better lives. Poverty, marriage, religion... they're things that were quite common back then."

"Interesting game, though," Yuui grinned. "I didn't know the Irish played such games."

"They probably don't anymore, but it's a nice way to go back to those times, don't you think?" Tomoyo smiled.

"So now what do we do?" Syaoran asked.

"Ghost stories!" the twins cheered.

"Hoe..." Sakura swallowed. "I... don't think that's such a good idea."

"Not yet," Tomoyo disagreed. "We need to fuel our imagination first, don't we?"

"How?" Kurogane demanded.

"By watching Halloween movies, of course!" Tomoyo chuckled. "Let's go back to my room and we'll watch a movie I'm sure you'll all enjoy!"

They tromped back up the stairs and back to Tomoyo's room, where she revealed the large, hidden room she had in the back, which served as an entertainment center of sorts. She watched all her movies and produced all of her films in that room. The boys were fascinated at all the equipment she had at hand.

"Now, I borrowed this DVD from the store especially for the occasion," Tomoyo told them, showing them the movie she had selected. "It's got adventure, romance and it's absolutely hilarious."

"All right! It's _Hocus Pocus!_" the twins cheered.

"You know this movie?" Sakura asked them.

"It's awesome!" Fay grinned.

"You'll definitely love it, Sakura-chan!" Yuui agreed.

"It... it doesn't have ghosts, does it?" she asked timidly.

"It's got my first cousin, but no, no ghosts," Yuui chuckled. "Not exactly, that is..."

"Eh?"

After watching the entire movie, it was apparent that the 'first cousin' Yuui had been referring to had been to the zombie, Billy, a comic character who ended up helping the good guys out instead of the witches who had brought him back for Halloween.

"It really was a great movie," Syaoran said. "I wasn't expecting that."

"But it had ghosts..." Sakura complained.

"Only at the end, and that was for Binx to be reunited with his little sister," Tomoyo told her gently.

"I'd call them spirits, actually," Yuui disagreed.

"It was so sweet!" Fay sighed. "It's the best Halloween movie ever!"

"It was boring," Kurogane grumbled. "And totally irrelevant to history."

"Irrelevant?" Syaoran repeated. "How so?"

"Real witches wouldn't be _that_ stupid, for one thing. They'd use their magic more often, and they'd have outsmarted those kids a long time before dawn."

"Kuro-rin," Fay shook his head. "Always the critic."

"We should've watched something else," Kurogane continued. "Like _Sleepy Hollow_. Now _that's_ what I call a movie."

"Sleepy Hollow?" Syaoran repeated. "With Ichabod Crane?"

"Yeah, but I'm talking about the version where he's a constable, investigating murder in Sleepy Hollow."

"The version with Johnny Depp?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yeah, have you watched it?"

"My older sister has, but my mother wouldn't let me. She said I'm not old enough yet."

"That's what my parents said, too," he huffed. "But my dad told me a bit about it. Like at one point, the constable searches in the forest for information and meets a witch, who transforms into a demon and tries to eat him!"

"Are you sure that's how it happened?" Yuui asked. "I don't recall anyone ever mentioning anything like that."

"Well, Dad said her face changed and turned into a rotting husk! Her eyes had disappeared and she began to talk in a rasping voice and she suddenly swooped down and began to claw at him!"

"Ewww," the twins shivered.

"Hoe!" Sakura squeaked, ducking behind Tomoyo.

"Kurogane-kun, I don't think we should continue this conversation," Tomoyo said sternly. "You're scaring Sakura-chan."

"If she's so scared about a description like that how's she going to handle ghost stories?" he demanded.

"Good point," the twins reflected.

"Well, not all of our ghost stories have to be scary," Tomoyo suggested. "We could just add a spooky atmosphere to them that doesn't necessarily have to be violent or terrifying."

"Are you okay with that?" Syaoran asked Sakura anxiously.

"I think so..." She forced a smile on her face.

"Yay!" the twins cheered. "Then we'll go last!"

"Why?" Kurogane demanded.

"To build up suspense..." they said in low, eerie voices.

They all gathered in Tomoyo's small living room and placed a jack-o'-lantern on the table. The candlelight inside it flickered as Tomoyo turned off the lights to create a spooky atmosphere. They all gathered around the table and settled down on comfortable cushions.

"Who wants to go first?" Syaoran whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" Kurogane whispered back.

"I don't know why. It just seems appropriate."

Kurogane shook his head. "We sound like morons."

"Then why are you still whispering Kuro-tako?" the twins whispered back.

"Let's just start, all right?" Sakura pleaded.

"Okay," Tomoyo whispered. "Who's first?"

Automatically, all eyes fell upon Syaoran.

He sighed. "All right. I'm first."

He began to tell a story about a boy who had gone to market one day on an errand for his mother but had mysteriously disappeared while he was crossing the bridge that led to the other village.

"Everyone tried to look for him, but no one ever found a trace of him. And, as legend in those parts had it, every year on that same day, you can hear a young boy crying for his mother around the bridge."

"I thought you said that it wouldn't be a scary story!" Sakura squeaked, clinging to Tomoyo.

"I... thought it wasn't," Syaoran said, flabbergasted. "Was it?"

"It was creepy all right," Tomoyo offered.

"Not as creepy as I was hoping," Kurogane shrugged.

"What's your idea of a spooky story, Sakura-chan?" Fay and Yuui chimed.

"Well... um... does this mean it's my turn?" she asked.

"Yeah!"

Sakura's brow creased as she wondered what kind of story to tell. "Well, I don't really know any ghost stories... but my older brother used to tell me that a pale woman with long hair would roam around in our house at night."

"Was it true?" Syaoran asked.

"I don't really know," she confessed. "Sometimes, I'd hear strange noises, and I'd see flashes of white around dark corners. But my father would say that it was only my imagination getting ahead of me."

"That's probably it," Kurogane said dully. "So that's your spooky story?"

Sakura nodded nervously.

Kurogane _tched_ and stretched his legs. "So who's next?"

"How about you, Kurogane-kun?" Tomoyo suggested.

"Hmmm..." He frowned in thought. "Now which one should I tell?"

"Kuro-chan looks like he knows a lot of stories," Yuui giggled.

"Well, he won't be able to beat us," Fay snickered.

"Okay," Kurogane finally said. "I've got one."

He began to tell them a story about a girl who had been forced by her classmates to venture into a haunted house to prove that she wasn't a 'scaredy-cat.'

"At first, it hadn't appeared that anything actually existed in the house, but when she tried to leave, she found that the door had been locked. Afraid that her classmates had locked her inside, she began to cry and beg that they let her out. But..." he lowered his voice dramatically. "Someone else answered."

Sakura swallowed uneasily. "Wh-who?"

"The house itself! It began to moan and shake all around her, and then the floor gave way beneath her, trapping her forever in the house's cellar!"

"Hoeeee!" Sakura squeaked.

"And you know what?" Kurogane added conspiratorially.

"What...?"

"They say that people who pass that house on a dark night can still hear her screams echoing all around the area!"

"Is that it?" Syaoran asked nervously.

"Yep. That's my story."

"Our verdict is six out of ten," the twins announced.

"What?"

"It's similar in fashion to Syaoran-kun's." They pointed at him and chimed, "Copycat!"

Kurogane frowned and grumbled something under his breath.

"It was quite entertaining," Tomoyo offered. She failed to notice how he had suddenly straightened as she asked, "So who's next?"

"Tomoyo-chan!" Fay said.

"We'll go last," Yuui added.

"Oh, all right then." Tomoyo cleared her throat and began.

Her story involved a sailor who had gone to sea so he could earn a better living for himself and his wife, whom he had left behind to wait for him. However, his ship had sunk in a terrible storm, but because there had been no survivors, no one knew what had happened to the ship and its crew.

"The wife continued to wait patiently, convinced that her husband would return someday. But as the years passed, and her hair became silver, doubt began to fill her heart. She desperately began to wander around the harbor, asking sailors what had become of her husband's ship. But it had been so many years ago that no one remembered there ever being a ship like that."

"And?" Sakura asked. "What happened next?"

"Overwhelmed with sorrow, she decided to put an end to her life. She climbed up to the top of a cliff which overlooked the sea, and, with warm thoughts about her husband flooding her mind, she jumped."

"And then what?" Syaoran asked.

Tomoyo shrugged. "And she died," she said simply. "She had been waiting all those years for nothing. If she had only waited one more day, she would have discovered that her husband had been the sole survivor of the wreck, for he finally showed up in town the next day, after traveling for years and years to try to return."

"Is that it?" Kurogane asked dully. "It wasn't even a scary story."

"Well, the spooky element _is_ present when the sailor decides to remarry and the ghost of his previous wife haunts their home and drives his new spouse insane," she added with a sly smile.

"...Forget I asked," Kurogane mumbled, sweat-dropping.

"All right!" the twins cried simultaneously. "Now it's time for our story!"

Their story was about a room in a hotel that no one had ever managed to open. Occupants of the room next door would complain in the morning about hearing strange, scratching noises in the middle of the night, and sounds like faint whimpers or sobs.

"The owners didn't know what to make of those strange happenings, so they decided to sleep in the next room one night to see for themselves," Fay said.

"That night, exactly at midnight, they were awakened by a peculiar scratchy noise," Yuui continued in a soft voice. "And the noise steadily became louder and louder, punctured with weak sobs."

"If they strained their ears, they could actually hear that the sounds formed words."

"Repeating the same thing over and over again."

Fay and Yuui drew together and whispered, _"Let me out!"_

"Stop it!" Sakura squeaked. "It's too scary for me to handle!"

"We're almost done, Sakura-chan," Fay pouted.

"Yeah, you're ruining the mood," Yuui added.

"Where were we?"

"We just revealed what the sobs were saying."

"Oh, yes, now I remember."

"Well, the owners decided right there and then that they had to do something," Yuui continued.

"So the next day they hired a building crew to open up that locked door."

"It wasn't easy seeing as it had been locked on the inside, but they finally managed it in the end."

"And guess what they found."

Fay and Yuui exchanged looks and whispered simultaneously, _"Blood."_

"All across the walls the words 'let me out' had been painted in blood," Fay explained.

"And that was the end of their hotel carrier, I'll bet," Yuui grinned.

"So what did you think of it?"

"Well..." Syaoran began weakly. "If we were giving out prizes for the scariest story, you two would've definitely won, hands down."

"We told you ours would be the scariest!" Yuui said proudly.

"And I think Kuro-wan's freaked out, but he doesn't want to admit it!" Fay grinned.

"Shut up! I'm not freaked out!"

"Then why is your face all pale?" Yuui snickered.

"You think I'm one of those idiots who believes in all that superstitious nonsense?" he spat. "As if there's such things as ghouls and spirits and—"

His words were cut off when the lights in the room suddenly began to flicker.

"That's odd," Tomoyo said, fingering the light switch. "Why did the lights flicker like that?"

"Kuro-sama's angered the spirits," Yuui said slowly. "Remember that Halloween is when the spirits come back to walk on the earth?"

"B-but the date's been changed so many times," Fay said, trying to hide that his voice was trembling. "I mean, why would they come back on Halloween specifically when they used to come out in May or November or whatever... right?"

"You're both mental," Kurogane grumbled. "As if it's the so-called spirits."

_Pop!_

The lights were suddenly extinguished, shrouding them in darkness.

"It's probably just a power failure," Syaoran said easily. "Right...?"

"Whatever the problem is, we ought to go check," Tomoyo said turning on a flashlight. "Come on. The hallway's this way."

Sakura swallowed nervously. "Couldn't we just stay here?" she said meekly.

"It's all right," Syaoran whispered. "Just take my hand if you're feeling nervous."

Sakura smiled at him gratefully in the darkness and took his offered hand, and they followed Tomoyo and the others out of the room.

"Ouch!" Kurogane suddenly exclaimed.

"Shhh!" the twins hushed him.

"How do you expect me to be quiet if you keep stepping on me?"

"Sorry." But no sooner had they apologized that they bumped into him again, this time nearly causing him to fall into Tomoyo.

"Did you see that?" she asked him as she helped him up, stopping in her tracks.

"See what? I can't even see my own nose in front of me."

"I thought I saw a white figure down the hallway," she said.

"A what?" Sakura said in a high-pitched voice.

"Daidouji-san, you shouldn't scare her like that," Syaoran said sternly.

"But I'm sure I saw something..."

"Shh!" Fay whispered. "What's that noise?"

A dull, rhythmic sound echoed down the hallway. Almost as if they were the footfalls of someone walking a little way ahead of them.

"It's probably your older sister, right?" Yuui asked Tomoyo nervously.

"I don't think so," she disagreed. "Onee-san doesn't walk like that. And neither does anyone else in the house."

The sounds steadily came closer and closer toward them, and to their surprise and horror, it wasn't someone walking down the hall... it was a skull bouncing down it instead!

The six children stiffened as they watched the skull roll towars them, finally coming to a stop at Sakura's feet. She was too scared to move or even squeak in terror. None of the others dared to make a move, either.

Suddenly there was a rasping noise behind them, almost like the slithery, dry sound of scales rubbing against each other.

"_Who has my skull?"_

The six slowly turned around to gaze up at the ghostly figure hovering behind them. All they could make out was someone in a white robe with long black hair obscuring their face. Then the figure raised their head to reveal their pasty white face, blood oozing from a corner of their mouth, and the figure extended their arms in an attempt to grab them.

"_KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

Sakura grabbed Syaoran, Syaoran grabbed Kurogane, Kurogane grabbed Fay, Fay grabbed Yuui, Yuui grabbed Tomoyo, and Tomoyo grabbed Sakura as they began screaming their heads off.

They were screaming so loud that they almost didn't hear the figure trying to stifle their laughter. The lights suddenly flickered at that point, shrouding the hallway in light again. It was enough to bring their screaming to an end and they looked up at the not-so-scary-anymore figure.

"Happy Halloween!"

Kendappa, Souma and Yukito suddenly appeared from around the corner, giggling insanely. The six children looked up at the figure suspiciously, who, upon taking off the mask, was none other than Touya.

"You guys should've seen the look on your faces," he smirked before turning to Kendappa. "This is the best idea you've ever had."

"I told you it would work," she grinned. "And to think you didn't want to have anything to do with it at first..."

"I... don't believe it," Yuui said faintly. "We were tricked..."

"Tricked by Tomoyo-chan and Sakura-chan's own flesh and blood!" Fay wailed.

"Who said we were all tricked?" Kurogane huffed. "_I_ wasn't scared."

"This coming from the guy who nearly strangled me to death as he clutched at me in terror!" Fay scoffed.

"Who said I clutched at you in terror? I'd never touch _you_, of all people!"

"You just did!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Actually, little boy," Kendappa said, leaning toward him and brandishing a photograph, "I can assure you that you most certainly did."

"No way! Gimme that photo!"

"Catch me if you can!"

Kurogane began a mad sprint after Kendappa, followed closely by Syaoran, Tomoyo, and the twins, who weren't anxious for that photograph to fall in the wrong hands.

Sakura merely sighed in relief, glad that there hadn't actually been a real ghost in Tomoyo's house. She didn't think she would have been able to handle anymore ghost-related issues that night. Her eyes drifted lazily toward the window. Something white flashed outside.

"Hoe..."


End file.
